Brooder



Cross Reference earcn noom E. E. MCGREW July 9, 1935.

BROODER Filed April 13, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l E. EM GIeW H9. ANIMAL HULJUAIELIH a,

oearcn flQ m Cross Reference y 1935. E. E. MCGREW 2,007,917

BROODER Filed April 15. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 as, g M3 Patented July 9, 1935 ,1

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BROODER poration of Nebraska Application April 13, 1931, Serial No. 529,669

8 Claims.

My invention relates to brooders, it being my object to provide a brooder which is slidable into an open frame work together with a number of other similar brooders all arranged in the form of a battery.

6 edge of the reticulated wall i4 is securely One of the objects of the invention is the provision of a feed trough which is partly within and partly without the brooder.

Another object of the invention is the provision of adjustable means for adjustably sliding the feed trough toward the inside of the brooder as the chicks grow in size.

Another object is the provision of a pivoted feed trough which is partly within and partly outside the brooder and which may be tilted on its pivots for convenience in loading the trough.

Another of my objects is the provision of a water trough having an adjustable bafiie extending down into the water, the balile being also adapted to function as a closure to prevent the chicks from falling out from the brooder when the water trough is removed for cleaning or filling.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a brooder unit, the bafile being shown partly broken away and one of the water troughs being removed to disclose structure which would otherwise be concealed.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on a plane defined by the line 22 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on a plane defined by the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on a plane defined by the line 44 of Figure 2.

The brooder is preferably made of sheet metal and in a form to slide into the rack so as to constitute one unit of a battery. It is provided with a cover l0 over a portion of the top opening, the remainder of the top opening being left open and exposed. A cloth wall ll separates the enclosed from the open portion of the brooder and constitutes a curtain which permits the chick to pass into and out of the enclosed portion of the brooder. The enclosed portion of the brooder is heated by means of a pair of electric bulbs [2, current being supplied to the heaters in any desired manner. The chicks pass into the enclosed portion below the curtain II to rest and to warm themselves but they pass out through the curtain into the open portion of the brooder for food, exercise and water. The brooder is also provided with a front slot 13a for receiving a droppings board l3b which is also preferably made from sheet metal. The construction thus far, however, is understood to be old.

The side walls of the open portion of the brooder are made of reticulated material throughout the upper portion as shown at M. The bottom bound between two metal straps l5 and IS. The strap 15 is in the plane of the sheet metal portion of the side wall while the strap I6 is on the inner side of the sheet metal wall. The two straps are bound together to thoroughly clamp the raw edges of the reticulated material I l and to thus avoid injury to the chicks.

The two forks ll and i8 project away from the side wall of the brooder to which they are secured. The fork ll has a base with which it forms an 1.. The fork l8 also forms an L with its base but the strap is bent around to form the second L on the front side of the brooder for purposes to be subsequently explained. The forks ll and iii are both secured to the brooder wall preierably by welding or brazing so as to be in effect integral therewith. The forks are designed for the securing of the water trough l9 thereto. This water trough is provided with two threaded pins 20 projecting from its opposite ends, the pins being adapted to receive the thumb nuts 21. The forks ll and I8 straddle the pins 20 so that the tightening of the thumb nuts will secure the trough l9 rigidly in place, partly inside and partly outside 1e brooder. A bafiie plate 22 is slidably mounted so that it is movable in an up and down direction over the lower opening and the side wall of the brooder. Two threaded pins 23 project outwardly from the straps l5 and I6 and the baflie plate 22 is provided with vertical elongated slots 23 for receiving the pins 23. The baiile plate 22 may be latched in any adjusted position by tightening the thumb nuts 25 on the threaded pins 23.

The front wall of the brooder is formed of slats or rods 26 which extend vertically. At an intermediate point in the rods the rods are all connected to each other by means of a transverse rod 21, the ends of which are anchored in the front wall of the brooder. The position of this transverse rod 21 above the fioor of the brooder and with relation to the food trough is such that it interferes with the chicks attempting to stick their heads through between the rods 26. The rods 26 are preferably positioned close enough together to prevent the chicks from getting their heads through between them but spaced sufficiently to permit the free flow of chick food through the open spaces between the rods. It is the tendency of chickens when eating dry mash to pick out the meat scraps and other choice parts of the mash. In doing this they scrape the mash toward themselves to uncover any choice bits. If they are permitted free access to the entire surface of the mash, they will scrape much of the food out of the receptacle and such food i then becomes wasted. The construction just described permits the chickens to insert their bills through the wall but the bars 26 are placed closely enough together to prevent the passage of the chickens heads so that they can not waste the food. The construction also facilitates the easy removal of the troughs for cleaning. After releasing the thumb nuts, the troughs are tilted until their inner walls clear the lower edges of the end walls of the brooder after which they may be withdrawn from the brooder. The insertion of the troughs into the brooder is equally simple, the troughs being first tilted to clear the end walls of the brooder and then positioned in adjusted relation with the brooder. The lower portion of the rod wall 26 is unobstructed in a transverse direction and this permits the chicks to thrust their bills through to loosen any food which becomes lodged in the food trough on the outside of the brooder. The lower ends of the rods 26 limit horizontal movement of the trough 28.

The food trough 28 is similar to the water troughs I but it has end walls the top edges of which slope inwardly as shown in the drawing. The food trough is provided with end projecting threaded pins which engage thumb nuts 29 which are similar in structure and function to the thumb nuts 2i and 25. Two forks 30 project outwardly away from the front wall of the brooder. The forks l8 and 30 with their bases are of integral construction.

It will thus be seen that the troughs l8 and 28 are slidably adjustable into and out of the brooder, the range of adjustment being the depth of the forks i8 and 30. The adjusted position in either case is adapted to be fixed by means of the thumb nuts which clamp the forks against the ends of the troughs. In addition to this there is an axial adjustment about the screw threaded pins which project outwardly from the ends of the troughs. This is perhaps the more important in the case of the feed troughs. When the attendant is replenishing the contents of the feed troughs, he can tilt the trough 2B forwardly so as to provide a rather large opening through which to introduce the feed. This is true even when the feed trough occupies its extreme inner position. After the food has been put into the feed trough, the trough is again tilted to its normal operative position in which it may be secured by means of the thumb nuts. The construction just described permits of the angular adjustment of the trough 28. Ordinarily this trough is main. tained in horizontal position but some kinds of food fiow better if the trough is slightly inclined beyond the angle of repose of the food. This is particularly true of the dry mashes which are fed to poultry.

While I have shown two forms of troughs at I!) and 28, it is obvious that the modifications shown in the two troughs are interchangeable. The top inclined edges of the end walls in the trough 28 might be used on the trough l9 if that trough is to be used as a feed trough. The baflle 22 with its connections might also be used in combination with the trough 28.

I claim:

1. In a brooder having a wall and a trough projecting therethrough, a pair of forks proiecting outwardly from said well at the vertical edges thereof. a pair of aligned screw threaded pins projecting outwardly from the end walls of said trough, said forks being adapted to straddle said pins to support said trough for ."iidalile and rosin ing adjustment, and nuts on said pins for releasably securing said trough in adjusted position.

2. A brooder including a wall and a trough projecting therethrough, said wall extending into said trough and being provided with vertical slotlike openings in that portion within the trough and of a size to permit the passage of the con? tents of the trough but to prevent the passage of the chicks heads through the openings, a guard rail positioned transversely of said wall across all of the openings thereof, said trough being positioned beneath said guard rail and being slidably and pivotally adjustable in said brooder, and means for mounting said trough slidably and pivotally in said brooder.

3. A brooder including a vertical wall and a trough projecting therethrough, said wall extending into said trough and being provided with openings in that portion within the trough for permitting the passage of contents of said trough into that portion of the trough inside the brooder, said trough being both slidably adjustable in a horizontal plane and angularly adjustable with respect to said wall, and means for mounting said trough slidably and pivotally in said brooder.

4. A brooder including a vertical wall and a trough projecting therethrough, said trough being slidable in a horizontal plane for adjustable positioning thereof in said brooder, said wall extending partly into said trough and limiting the horizontally slidable movements thereof, the portion of said wall within said trough being provided with openings for the flow of the contents of the trough from the outer toward the inner part thereof, said trough having also a tiltable relation with respect to said wall whereby said trough may be withdrawn from said brooder by first tilting said trough to clear the lower edge of the portion of said wall within said trough, and means for mounting said trough slidably and pivotally in said brooder.

5. A brooder including a wall and a trough projecting therethrough, a portion of said wall projecting downwardly into said trough and minating above the floor of said trough to permit the flow of material past said wall portion in said trough, aligning pins projecting outwardly from the end walls of said trough, and arms projecting outwardly from said brooder for engaging said pins for supporting said trough for sliding movement in a horizontal plane and for tiltable movement about said pins.

6. In a brooder, an animal enclosure having a wall with a depending partition, a trough removably positioned through the wall with the partition extending down into the trough, and means for releasably mounting said trough for horizontal sliding and for pivotal movements through said wall and in said brooder.

7. In a brooder, an animal enclosure having a. wall with feed receiving openings therein and a slot extending across the bottom and partly up the sides of the wall to provide a partition at the bottom of the wall, a feed trough slidable horizontally through the slot in the wall with the partition extending into the trough to regulate the supply of feed from the outer to the inner portion of the trough, and means for mounting said trough slidably and pivotally in said brooder.

.8. In a brooder, an animal enclosure having a wall, a horizontally adjustable trough removably positioned through the wall, a partition mounted for vertical adjustment on the wall and comprising the lower end portion thereof projecting into the trough, and means for mounting said trough slidably and pivotally in said brooder.

EARL E. McGREW. 

